1. Chapter 1

**Unexpected Truths, Chapter 1**

**A **_**Buffy the Vampire Slayer **_**Fan Fiction**

**This is set sometime in season one. I just love the young Scoobies, what can I say. **

**A/N: So, it's been a while since I've written a fic in the Buffyverse (or any fics at all, for that matter). But it's nice to be back. I hope you all enjoy, and please forgive me if it's a little weak. Any and all comments are always appreciated! **

**Disclaimer: All names, characters, places, etc. belong to Joss Whedon and company. The story, however, is mine. **

The final bell of the day rang, and the students of Sunnydale High came pouring out of their classrooms, eager to get started with their weekend.

"Our science homework sounds really interesting," Willow Rosenberg said, standing at her locker and carefully placing textbooks into her schoolbag. "I can't wait to do the corresponding experiment next week. I wonder if I'd be allowed to do a more in-depth experiment with similar principles. It would probably have to be at a different time, but-"

"Will, please, stop, before you give me a headache," Xander Harris interrupted. "The fact that you're still thinking about school a full thirty-two seconds after the bell has rung on a Friday is enough to make anybody sick."

Willow looked over at her best friend and huffed, and then began organizing some papers in her locker. Many of her school things had gotten a bit messy lately, due to the assisting Buffy and Giles with all things demonic, but now that she had a spare moment, some cleanup seemed in order. It made her a little uncomfortable to have any physical messes in her world.

_Just another difference between Xander and me, _Willow thought as she glanced back at her long-time best friend. He was looking straight past her, presumably watching for Buffy. Willow couldn't help but emit a small sigh as she turned back to her locker. She knew she didn't stand a chance with Xander. She knew it didn't even make sense that she liked him. But neither of those things changed the fact that she was head over heels.

_Well, maybe I like him because it doesn't make sense. He's my opposite. I'm neat, he's messy. I'm driven, he's laidback. I'm smart, he's…well, he's not stupid, but…_

"Buffy!" Xander exclaimed, breaking Willow out of her reverie.

"Hey Xander," Buffy Summers said as she walked up to her friends, giving Xander a not-so-subtle look of 'down, boy.' "Hey Will," she said, smiling in the redhead's direction.

Willow shut her locker and turned to face the blonde. "Hi Buffy," she replied, smiling back. The two shared a look, silently expressing their amusement over Xander's eagerness as only best friends can do.

"So ladies," Xander said, putting an arm around each girl and leading them towards the door, "what are we doing on this fine Friday evening?"

"Well Giles _actually _gave me a night off from Slayer duties, so I foresee a real hang out being a totally workable and necessary thing," Buffy answered.

"I'm down," Willow said as they exited the school. "But where are we going to go? The Bronze is closed this weekend, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Xander said. "Needs repairs, right? I heard it got trashed."

"Yeah, and for once the trashing did not occur while fighting to keep the streets of Sunnydale safe from the undead," Buffy replied, somewhat contrite and somewhat smug.

Willow giggled. "Nope, this time, it was just your regular old drunk people. Apparently they do almost as much damage as slayage does."

"Figures," Xander said, hopping down the steps. "The one time some monster doesn't ruin our fun, normal people swoop in and do it."

"Hey, no need to be Mr. Whinypants," Buffy said, following him with Willow close behind. "We can still have fun. How about you guys come over to my house tonight? I'm sure Mom will be ecstatic to see me doing a normal teenage thing with people she approves of."

Xander's face lit up as he said, "Your mom approves of me?" while Willow overlapped with, "That sounds great!"

Buffy laughed and replied, "Well Xander, my mom approves majorly of Willow, and I think she's just accepted that you guys are kind of a package deal."

"I-I wouldn't say we're a package deal," Willow jumped in. "I mean, we hang out a lot and stuff and we have for a really long time, but that's because, you know, we're best friends, and for a long time we have been. Best friends, I mean. Because we've always hung out and stuff, even when no one else hung out with us-"

Xander and Buffy stopped and stared at Willow, and it was only then that the redhead realized that she'd been babbling in a major way. Her eyes hit the pavement, and she could feel an extreme blush rising in her cheeks.

"That's all I meant by package deal, Will," Buffy said, unable to keep the laughter out of her tone. "I know! Why don't we have a sleepover? Junk food, bad movies, lots of laughs, late-night activities that don't involve vampire slayage?"

Willow's face brightened with a smile once again as she looked at her friend and said, "That would be really fun."

Xander's eyes grew wide as he scanned back and forth between the girls, his questioning clearly written all over his face. "Wait…so…I'm invited to the sleepover portion of the evening?"

"Of course, Xand!" Willow said, perhaps a little too eagerly.

"Duh," Buffy chimed in. "You're totally one of the girls, Xander."

"Oh goodie, one of the girls," he grumbled. "You know how much I love to hear that."

Buffy crossed her arms and looked at Xander condescendingly. "Well, being one of the girls allows you to join Willow and I on our sleepover adventure, so I wouldn't go bashing it too much."

"This is true, O Wise Buff-ster," Xander said, folding his hands and bowing slightly to Buffy as if she were his sensei. "Well, taking that into consideration, as long as you don't try to do my hair or paint my nails or anything, I guess I'm alright with being one of the girls. For tonight."

"Don't worry, Xander," Buffy replied. "I think we can probably resist. Wouldn't you say, Willow?" The blonde nudged the other girl with her elbow, and they shared a look and a laugh.

"Sometimes it worries me when you two do that," Xander mumbled, but when the girls turned to look at him, they paused for a moment, and then all three laughed together.

"So, why don't you guys come to my place after dinner?" Buffy said. "8:00 work for everybody?"

"Great," Willow said with a nod.

"8 PM, got it," Xander replied.

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys then!" Buffy said.

Xander gave a sweeping bow to the girls and said, "Ladies, until we meet again."

After she and Buffy rolled their eyes one last time, Willow smiled and said, "See you both tonight," and with that, all three turned and headed towards their respective homes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Unexpected Truths, Chapter 2 **

**A **_**Buffy the Vampire Slayer **_**fan fiction**

**A/N: Hey friends! So basically I am awful and suck at fic updating, and don't worry, I'm entirely aware of it. Note to self: next time, don't write one chapter of a fan fiction during spring break and think, "Oh, I can make time to finish it when I start back at school!" No. I can't. Because that's what happened. The last month or so since I've been home have just been me being a lazy-bones. Anyway, thanks so much for sticking by this story, for the follows, favorites, and reviews. They definitely motivated me to keep this story going! I am so so so so sorry for the wait; not sure this chapter will be worth it, but I'm glad to have finally written and be publishing it! Hope you enjoy! As always, any comments are greatly appreciated!**

**This probably should have been mentioned earlier, but the whole romance/potential romance with Angel is not a thing. Love the dude, but for the purposes of this story, no. **

_Tonight is going to be so great, _Buffy thought as she joyously put her slaying supplies back in their hiding place, reveling in the fact that she wouldn't be needing them this evening. She loved that her friends helped her so much with the whole keeping-Sunnydale-and-the-world-safe thing, but sometimes she just wanted the opportunity to do normal teenage stuff with them. And tonight was a rare chance for that.

_God, I feel like I'm never in this room, so how do I manage to make such a mess of it? _the blonde wondered as she started to pick up the clothes and papers that she had strewn all over the place. _Really, it's impressive_. _Hey, I've been wondering where this top went! _

"Am I actually seeing this? Is my daughter actually picking up her room?" Joyce Summers teased as she stood in the doorway.

Buffy laid the shirt on her bed as she went to grab a hanger from her closet. "Ha, ha, very funny, Mom. I meant to ask you, is it okay if Willow and Xander spend the night tonight?"

"Oh, of course, Buffy," Mrs. Summers said, caught a little off guard. It had been quite some time since her daughter had asked permission to have a sleepover; when the trouble had started in LA, it had been all sneaking out and lying about who she was with. Since moving to Sunnydale, she felt that Buffy and her friends only ever hung out at the Bronze. "That sounds like it should be a very good time. It'll be nice to have them here," she continued as she stepped into the bedroom and picked up a pair of pants from the floor, folding them and putting them into the dresser.

"Yeah, it should be great." A big smile crossed Buffy's face as she hung up the shirt she'd picked up the moment before, and she got so momentarily excited she couldn't help but say, "I feel like we never get to do normal teenage stuff, always out hunting—" she backtracked as her mother gave her a strange look, "I mean, always being out. Instead of staying in. Like we're doing tonight… It should be great."

Mrs. Summers walked to her daughter and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. It was hard to believe the beautiful young woman her Buffy was so quickly growing up to be. "I'm just glad you've got such good friends to pass the time with. Willow and Xander both seem like such sweet kids."

Buffy let her mom's hand rest on her face for a moment longer before pulling away. "Yeah, they're great. Xander might be a little over-eager at times, but that's just him exhibiting total teenage boy-ism. And Willow's wonderful."

Mrs. Summers couldn't help but raise her eyebrows as she teased her daughter once again, "Oh, is that why you're cleaning your room for once? Because there's going to be an eager teenage boy in here?" She paused for a moment, then got an intense mom look on her face. "Wait, do I need to be worried about Xander spending the night?"

A guffaw escaped Buffy's throat before she could stop it. "No, Mom. You _so _do not need to worry about that. Much to Xander's dismay, he's not someone I think about like that. And I am definitely not cleaning up for his sake." She bent to pick up a bright pink bra from the floor and studied it for a second. "Though it's probably not a bad thing that I am."

"Okay, just checking. As a single parent, I feel I have to be aware of any potential boyfriends so that I can threaten them. Though I'm probably not as imposing as the average father…"

Buffy couldn't help but chuckle again, this time because she was trying to imagine her mother threatening anybody. "Don't worry, Mom. No need to threaten Xander. Or any guy, for that matter."

Mrs. Summers smiled at her daughter, relishing this happy moment between them. "So are they coming over for dinner? Do I need to prepare something for four as opposed to two?"

"No, they'll be here at 8," Buffy said, tossing a final piece of paper into her wastebasket and smiling at her successfully cleaned floor, then turning a questioning smile up to her mother. "Though if you're going to the grocery store, I might tag along so I can get some snacks for tonight…"

Sighing, Mrs. Summers admitted, "Well, what's a sleepover without some junk food? Come on. If they're coming at 8, we'd better get going." She started to walk out of the room, her daughter close behind.

_What do I even need to bring to a sleepover? _Willow wondered as she grabbed a small duffel bag from her closet. It had been a long time since she'd gone to a sleepover of any kind. The whole having no close female friends for the last few years had made sleepovers pretty obsolete.

But now she had Buffy. And because it would be Buffy and Willow, it was okay that Xander would be there too. _Not that I'd mind having a sleepover with just Xander…_

Willow inhaled sharply as she realized what she'd just thought. Even though her feelings for her male best friend were often overwhelming, she could still be caught off-guard when things like that popped into her head. Things that were more than just romantic. Things that the book her mother had handed her to teach her about "relationships" when she was 13 described as "the physical yearnings for another body." God, that book was awful.

The redhead deposited a casual set of clothes for the following day into her bag, still thinking of the possibility of alone sleepover time with Xander. _Of course, if he had a chance to be alone with Buffy, he'd throw me away in a heartbeat_. She couldn't help but be saddened by this fact as she took her neatly folded pajamas from where she kept them under her pillow.

Willow shook her head as she tried to expel these thoughts from her mind. Tonight wasn't about pining over Xander or being dismayed about his pining over Buffy. Tonight was about having lots of fun with her two best friends.

She was looking forward to doing something so…normal. Her life had been atypical even before Buffy came along, due to her sometimes extreme loneliness. She'd always wondered what was wrong with her, why it was that Xander was her only lasting friend. She'd loved school, with all its many things to learn, but she had dreaded it as well, always knowing that Cordelia and her clique could be just around the corner with a snide remark or a rude look. She'd tried not to let it show too much, but her life had gotten pretty lonely, and it had been bringing her down.

Then Buffy came shooting into Sunnydale like a rocket, and Willow found herself far less lonely and far happier. After many years of being excluded, she finally felt like she had a place to fit in. After seeing every girl around her become best friends with some other girl, with Buffy, she finally had a friendship like that.

Of course, friendship with Buffy meant that her life was still anything but ordinary. Now, instead of spending her nights alone, she spent them in graveyards killing demons or researching in the library until the wee hours of the morning. But she spent them with her best friends, and that made all the difference in how she felt about herself and her life.

Willow felt a bubbling, vivacious excitement as she got her toothbrush and hairbrush from the bathroom and put them into a pocket of her bag. Although their nights as the Slayerettes were great (well, most of the time, anyway, when they weren't horrifically frightening), she was delighted by the prospect of a nice, normal sleepover. She rarely got the chance to feel like a teenager, and she could tell that tonight was going to be just the thing to let her do that.

_Even the Xander crush, as annoying and pervasive as it may be, just feels so…adolescent. And so right_.

A giant smile crossed the redhead's pale face as she checked her bag one last time for all necessary items. Certain that everything she needed was there, she zipped it up and hoisted it on to her shoulder, ready to head for Revello Drive and take on whatever her first sleepover in years brought to her.

_Can I sleep in my clothes? I'm just going to sleep in my clothes_. Xander lay down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling, plotting how to take as little as possible to the sleepover this evening. _Pajamas are overrated anyhow_. _Hmm, I wonder what Buffy sleeps in… Well, I guess I'll get to see tonight. Gonna have to keep my drooling in check for that one. But that's what Willow's there for. _

Contrary to what some people may have thought, Xander was not oblivious to the fact that his redheaded best friend had a crush on him. However, he was oblivious to just how big of a crush it was. In his mind, the thing he had for Buffy was much bigger than the thing Willow had for him. Because of this, he felt it was Willow's job to keep him from making too big a fool of himself where Buffy was concerned.

Of course, that was far easier said than done. Something about the Slayer took his ever-present inner idiot and multiplied it by about a million. Xander rolled over to his bedside table and picked up the picture he had there of him and his girls. As they always did when he stared at it, his eyes skimmed right over Willow and landed on Buffy.

_She's just so beautiful. That blonde hair, those big…eyes, those perky…cheekbones. Oh good God, I need to stop. _He frantically set the picture down, not needing to continue staring at Buffy's attractive assets any longer.

_That's it, I've given up. I'm a hopeless case. Let's call some sappy singer to sing some sappy love song and be done with it. _

Xander glanced at the clock strategically positioned across his room (strategically positioned so that he had to get up to turn off the alarm in the morning). It was 7:48. He had not realized that the time had passed that quickly, and he figured he'd better get a move on.

_Okay, what do I actually need? Yeah, I'll sleep in my clothes, but what else?... Toothbrush. Toothbrush would be good. _

Xander hopped off his bed and went to his bathroom. While there, he realized it would probably be a good idea to make use of it before he headed to Buffy's. It was only as he pulled up his pants that it dawned on him what else he should take over. _Underwear would also be very good. _

Grabbing his toothbrush, Xander returned to his bedroom and went to his dresser. He fished out a pair of boxers from the top drawer and shut it with a shove. As he held the underwear in one hand and the toothbrush in the other, he realized that he did not want to show up on Buffy's doorstep holding these things. He quickly got a bag from under his bed and stuck the two items into it. In a final moment of brain function, he grabbed his deodorant and put it in the bag as well.

_Okay, okay, I think I'm good to go. Off to what could be one of the most amazing nights of my life: an all-night Buffy experience. Except not really. Oh, who am I kidding, nothing's going to happen. But it's gonna be fun no matter what. _

Another glance at the clock showed 7:55. Without another thought, Xander walked out of his room, shut the door, and started high-tailing it towards Revello Drive.

Buffy sat on her bed, looking over all the goodies she'd manage to score at the grocery store. There were two kinds of Doritos, multiple flavors of potato chips, and that weird bagged popcorn that nobody really liked but that you always ate anyway. She'd also gotten a couple two liters of soda and a six-pack of Yoo-Hoo. That was for Xander. Both she and Willow found it disgusting, but for some reason, he loved the stuff. Her biggest haul was definitely in her favorite food group, sweets. She'd gotten brownies, Chips Ahoy, Oreos, Twizzlers, Sour Patch Kids, Snickers, Reese's, Twix, and one of those huge bags of M&amp;Ms. **And**there was ice cream in the freezer. Really, she'd outdone herself with this selection.

She smiled, thinking of how much her mother had made fun of her at the store as she piled all this stuff into their cart _And yet she still offered to make us waffles in the morning. _

The reason for this was obvious, at least to Buffy. This sleepover was making her mom so happy. Buffy could tell all through shopping and dinner that her mom was ecstatic about having her daughter act so blessedly normal, even for just one evening. It was obvious in her eyes that she hoped this first act of normality would lead to more, help them build a more normal mother/daughter relationship and maybe even allow her more insight into what Buffy was feeling.

_Thankfully she's not too insightful just quite yet_. For the reason of slaying, obviously, but also for simpler things. More everyday things. Things like the conversation they'd had earlier, while they were cleaning her room.

There had been an interesting emphasis on a particular word that Buffy had said. It had gone right over her mom's head, and Buffy herself didn't realize that she had done it. Only after she said it and played it back in her brain did she realize the unusual emphasis placement.

"Don't worry, Mom. No need to threaten Xander. Or any guy, for that matter."

Normally the emphasis would be placed on 'any.' "Or **any **guy, for that matter." But when Buffy had spoken it a couple hours earlier, the emphasis was elsewhere.

"Don't worry, Mom. No need to threaten Xander. Or any **guy**, for that matter."

Buffy had pondered this continuously during the trip to the grocery store and the quick dinner she shared with her mother. Emphasizing guy would imply that boys were not the sex her mom should be worried about, which would imply that her mom should be worried about girls, which would imply that Buffy had feelings for girls. Or at least, that was the logical conclusion she reached.

The blonde played with a hanging thread on her blanket as she thought about this conclusion some more. Thinking back, she couldn't remember ever consciously having romantic feelings for another girl, but the idea of it didn't surprise her much. Girls were pretty, she was more than wiling to acknowledge that. And compared to guys and their often jerkish natures, girls could be very sweet. And a lot of times, girls presented themselves as smarter.

The list continued in her brain. It continued for a while until she realized that she was no longer listing traits about girls in general. She was listing traits of a specific girl, one who would arrive on her doorstep in approximately (she quickly checked the clock) 3 and ½ minutes.

_Well of course. If I've got feelings for any girl, it's going to be for Willow. She's special. Unlike anyone I've ever met before. _

"Wait a second…what!?" Buffy said under her breath, shaking her head in confusion. A few hours ago, she had never even entertained the thought of crushing on a girl. Then she said one sentence to her mom with one unusually emphasized word and suddenly she's liking Willow!? Where did this come from!?

Being the Slayer, Buffy had learned to recognize and obey her instincts. So the little instinctual voice in the back of her mind was quite loud, and because it'd saved her life many and many a time, she was hopeless to tune it out.

_It's not sudden, and you know it. Maybe you've never actively thought about it, but it's been there for a while. Otherwise you never would have said that to your mom. You don't always have a brain-to-mouth filter, and some things get said without having been thought about. _

Buffy heaved a big sigh, still trying to wrap her brain around the fact that she was getting the warm fuzzies thinking about her nerdy, silly, adorable, uniquely beautiful, redheaded best friend. It wasn't like she had any sort of problem with it. It was just…unexpected.

But as she thought about it some more, she realized with certainty that it was cool. She was fine with this knowledge about herself, and Willow was her best friend, so although nerdy, silly, adorable, and uniquely beautiful she may be, she was off limits. And that was okay.

The doorbell broke Buffy out of her reverie, and she looked at her clock once again. 8 PM, on the dot. That meant that only Willow would be standing at the door; Xander would, as always, be late.

Buffy rose off of her bed, smoothed the comforter, and then went down to open the door and begin what was sure to be one very interesting sleepover.


	3. Chapter 3

**Unexpected Truths, Chapter 3**

**A **_**Buffy the Vampire Slayer **_**fan fiction**

**A/N 1: So readers, I have bad news and good news (or at least, it's news if you care about this fic. If not, thanks for reading anyway!). The bad news is that tomorrow I am going out of town for just under two weeks to a place with no wi-fi, which means no ability to post updates of this story. The good news is that tomorrow I am going out of town for just under two weeks to a place with no wi-fi, so I will be bored out of my mind and will likely complete this entire story. And it will get posted just as soon as I return home. So I apologize in advance for the delay! **

**A/N 2: This chapter (or I suppose this whole fic, really, but especially this chapter) is dedicated to my dear group of high school friends, with whom I spent far too many Friday nights playing ridiculous games of Truth or Dare in very odd locations; my car parked at a Sonic drive-thru, a playground, a trampoline. Those were some of the most hilarious times. So, although you will never read it, KJizzle, Grantifer, Daughter, BESTFRIEND, Special K, this one is for you :)  
**

"Okay, um...what?" Buffy said to her TV as the end credits of their second very weird, very bad movie of the evening began to run.

"Don't ask me for an explanation," Xander said. "I'm just as confused as you. Possibly more."

Both turned to look at Willow. She stared back at them and shrugged. "I have a few theories, but I'm quite certain they're all wrong. So basically I've got nothing."

"Why do we put ourselves through these things?" Buffy wondered aloud as she stood up, brushing potato chip crumbs off her shorts.

"Once again, I've got nothing," Willow answered with a smirk.

"I think they're hilarious," Xander chimed in. "Sure, they make no sense, but you can't say watching that that you weren't entertained."

The standing Buffy and the sitting Willow studied him for a moment. Then the blonde said, "Yeah, I guess you're right. So, I'm gonna run to the bathroom, and then I'll go downstairs and get some ice cream. I've got mint chocolate chip and chocolate chip cookie dough. What do we want?"

Willow said, "Chocolate chip cookie dough!" just as Xander said, "Mint chocolate chip, duh." The two turned to look at each other, Willow smiling (what she thought, hoped was) an imploring smile.

"Oh, get the chocolate chip cookie dough," Xander acquiesced. "It's only 11:30; our night is still young."

Buffy laughed and rolled her eyes, then said, "Okay, one half gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and three spoons coming up!" and left the room.

"Thanks for saying we could have cookie dough," Willow said, trying her best to keep her voice light and steady. She knew Buffy would only be gone for a couple minutes, but she was glad for those couple minutes alone with Xander. She had tried not to notice, but nonetheless she had seen Xander staring at Buffy for much of the second movie as she stretched out in her tank top and pajama bottoms. She wondered if Buffy had felt his eyes on her. Probably.

"Of course, buddy. Anything for you," Xander said, reaching over to ruffle Willow's long red hair endearingly.

"Hey!" she exclaimed as she swatted his hand away.

Xander looked at her for a moment and then laughed. "Will, we haven't even slept yet, but you've already got bedhead!"

Willow smoothed her hands over her head, trying to return her hair to its normal state. "Maybe so, but it has nothing to do with sleep and everything to do with you being a meanie," she said, punctuating the end of her sentence with a gentle punch to his arm.

Xander raised his hands in the universal sign for 'I'm unarmed, I surrender.' "Okay, I promise not to be a meanie any more tonight if you promise not to punch me any more."

"Deal," Willow said, giggling gently. She loved the back-and-forth they had. It had developed over many years, and it was something just the two of them shared. While she totally loved Buffy, sometimes she missed these private moments between her and her long-time best friend.

"So, it's weird for me to think that I'm gonna be sleeping in Buffy's room tonight. I mean, it's Buffy's! I haven't been acting too…eager, have I?" Xander asked, interrupting Willow's pleasant thoughts about her and Xander being just her and Xander.

"What? Oh, um, no. You haven't," Willow replied, knowing that was the answer he was looking for. "You might want to be a little more careful about the staring though."

Xander emitted a long sigh and then said, "That obvious, huh?" and was not too happy with Willow's nod. "Do you think Buffy noticed?"

"With her instincts, I don't think there's any way she could've missed it."

* * *

Willow would have been surprised to learn that Buffy had missed it, at least most of the time. It happened often enough that she did notice Xander staring at a few moments, but the majority of the time, her mind was otherwise occupied. Willow probably would have been even more surprised to learn that she was the person occupying Buffy's mind.

The blonde thought about this as she quietly walked downstairs and to the kitchen. A few times during the film, Buffy couldn't help but let her eyes drift to the pajama-clad redhead. Most of the time, Willow was staring at Xander, not doing much to keep the longing out of her eyes. Buffy hoped she was at least doing a better job of that.

As she reached for three spoons from the cutlery drawer, Buffy realized for the first time the legitimate hilarity of their situation. She had to exert much of her willpower just to keep herself from laughing aloud.

She laid the first spoon horizontally on the counter. _So this spoon is me_. Grabbing the second spoon, she placed it diagonally inward, with the handle touching the scoopy end of the first. _This spoon is Willow. _Placing the third spoon to touch its handle to the scoopy end of the 'Willow' spoon and the scoopy end to the handle of the 'Buffy' spoon, she couldn't control her laughter any longer. A guffaw escaped her throat. _And this third spoon is Xander; I have feelings for Willow, Willow has feelings for Xander, and Xander has feelings for me. I am in my first honest-to-God love triangle. This is something else_.

Still chuckling under her breath at the oddness of the situation, she gathered the spoons up in her right hand, got the ice cream in her left, and headed back up the stairs.

* * *

"…and she just looks so cute in her pajamas," Xander trailed off.

"Oh, um, uh-huh," Willow said, hoping that was an acceptable answer. Much as she tried to be the supportive friend, it was hard for her to listen to Xander talk about how much he liked Buffy. So she usually just tuned him out, as she'd been doing. But she guessed that her answer had been decent because Xander didn't say anything else, just let out a morose sigh.

Both heads simultaneously turned towards the doorway as they heard a laugh from downstairs. "I guess she found something funny in the freezer," Xander joked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Willow responded. She moved towards the TV and removed their latest video from the VCR. "You know, I think I'm kind of movie-d out, at least for a little while."

Xander nodded as he stuffed a few M&amp;Ms into his mouth. "I'm with you. They're hilarious, but I can only take so much weirdness in one sitting."

"Referring to the movies?" Buffy asked as she nudged the door shut with her foot and sat down, placing the ice cream in the middle of the three friends and distributing the spoons.

"Yup," Xander replied. "My brain needs time to refresh. It's only used to being this confused during school hours."

Both girls chuckled, and then Willow said, "Well, if we're not watching a movie, what should we do instead?"

They all dug in to the ice cream and used the silence to brainstorm some activities. The quiet continued, accompanied by surreptitious glances by each around the little circle.

Xander had a few memories of the stunts he and some of his guy friends had pulled at sleepovers in the past, but he didn't think any of them would really fly with Buffy or Willow. _At sleepovers in movies, girls always play Truth or Dare_. _But is it creepy if I suggest it? I think it's kind of creepy. Hey, look at me, being able to decide if things are creepy even though I really want to play Truth or Dare with Buffy! _

Willow couldn't help but feel especially self-conscious as she sat, feeling her two best friends thinking hard. _I'm not sure I could come up with a single sleepover activity if I tried. Doesn't matter how smart I might be. Okay, pretty sure that makes me a loser. _

Buffy was remembering what she always called 'her old life,' the time in LA before she found out she was the Slayer. Having been a popular girl, big-group sleepovers had been a pretty permanent Friday fixture of her life since she was around 8. _Let's see, what sort of silly things did we do at those? Well, we played dress-up or messed around with makeup a lot, but that's not exactly Willow behavior, and I don't think Xander would enjoy that very much. We talked a lot about boys, but considering the only boy Willow wants to talk about is in the room and boys are pretty much the opposite of what I want to talk about right now, I think that subject is pretty off-limits. Oh geez, what else?...We played a lot of Truth or Dare. That was always entertaining. You know, I think the three of us could have some fun with that. _

"What about Truth or Dare?" Buffy suggested, surprising the other two by breaking the growing quiet. She was smiling innocently, but there was a slightly mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Uh—um…yeah. Truth or Dare could be, uh, fun," Willow stuttered. As she spoke, she racked her brain, trying to remember if she had ever actually played Truth or Dare before.

Xander shrugged, trying (and failing) to look rather casual, as if he hadn't been thinking the same thing. "Sure, I'd be okay with some Truth or Dare. But it's a little girly, so just don't tell anyone."

"Oh yes, because you have such a reputation to uphold," Willow giggled, and both Buffy's and Xander's jaws dropped at her teasing.

"Way to go, Will!" Buffy exclaimed, reaching over and high-fiving her female best friend, then continuing to hold her hand as they collapsed into giggles.

Xander whipped his head to face Buffy. "Hey!" Then he turned to Willow. "Hey!" Following these verbal protests, he continued to look back and forth between Buffy and Willow as their laughter began to subside.

"Sorry, Xand," Buffy said, her breathing still a little ragged from her laughing fit. "But you have to admit, you pretty much set yourself up for that one."

"Yeah, I guess I did," Xander admitted, his disdain subsiding as he admired how cute his two best friends looked, all smiley and rosy-cheeked from their excessive laughter.

After fully catching their breath (and after Buffy quickly released Willow's hand when she realized she was still holding it), the two girls looked at each other and then at Xander. "So we're all good with Truth or Dare?" Buffy asked.

"Yup," Xander said, and Willow nodded her head, feeling awkward once again due to her lack of Truth or Dare experience.

Buffy smiled and said, "Well, I think first we need to set out some ground rules. Eliminates conflict or confusion later. So, first one. All truths need to be more than 'yes' or 'no' questions, or at least the answerer must give more than 'yes' or 'no.'"

"Fair enough," Xander replied. "Okay, how about, with truths, you can ask it to both other people if you want? Does that make sense?"

Willow nodded. "Like if I ask a truth, I can have both you and Buffy answer it, even though only one of you will have chosen truth?"

"Yeah, exactly," Xander said.

"I like that rule. Kind of devious, but fun," Buffy laughed. "Oh, important one: skips. Um, we're all allowed one free skip _after _choosing truth or dare and being told what it is and one free skip _before_ choosing and being told. If we use both of those and then refuse to answer a truth or do a dare, we have to…hold a really weird pose until our next turn."

"Hey, I don't think that's fair, Miss Super-In-Shape-Slayer! It'll be a walk in the park for you but not for me and Willow," Xander protested, Willow nodding along with him.

Buffy giggled and then sighed. "Fine, if I skip a turn, you guys can pick the pose I have to hold and make it really hard, but you can each choose your own."

"That's fairer," Willow said. "But since that rule is dependent on doing something until your next turn, should we make a rule about turns? As in, so that we can't keep going and going and cheating someone out of a turn?"

"Yeah, probably," Buffy replied. "What about, you can only go back and forth for three turns?"

Xander looked down as he tried to figure out what exactly this meant. Seeing his confusion and also wanting to clarify for herself, Willow said, "So if I ask you something, Buffy, and then you ask me something, and then I ask you something again, and you go back to me again, and I ask you something again, and you ask me something again, at that time I have to ask Xander. I can't ask you again."

"Yes, that is correct," Buffy said. "Xander, you still look pretty confused."

"I am. But I'll just go with it. Tell me if I'm about to break the rule," Xander told them both.

"Will do," Buffy answered. "Well, I think those about cover it. Who wants to start?" Xander looked at Buffy, and Buffy looked at Willow. Willow looked at the floor. "Since no one is jumping up and down to volunteer, I guess I'll ask first. Willow, Truth or Dare?"

The redhead's eyes shot up at the sound of her name, and Buffy was thoroughly amused by the surprise and small but evident amount of fear in them. "Uh—um…Truth, I guess."

"Playing it safe," Xander said in a low, teasing voice. Then "Ow!" much louder as Buffy hit him in the arm.

"Willow, have you ever played Truth or Dare before? And if not, why haven't you?" Buffy asked, looking at her best friend expectantly.

Holding Buffy's gaze, Willow answered, "I don't think I ever have." Her eyes dropped back to the floor as she continued, suddenly fascinated with the spoon still in her hands. "You know that I was never exactly Miss Popular, and I never really had the friends to play Truth or Dare with. So that's why I never have."

Buffy leaned over and rubbed her friend's pale knee lovingly, secretly enjoying the feel of the bare skin exposed by her pajama shorts. This kind action raised Willow's eyes once again. "Well now you have us," Buffy said with a brilliant smile, which the redhead returned. "And now it's your turn to ask, Will!"

"Okay. Um, Xander, Truth or Dare?" Willow said.

"Let's be adventurous and go with Dare," Xander answered.

"Oh great," Willow muttered under her breath, realizing that meant she had to come up with a dare. Spotting a teen magazine on the top of a stack next to the trashcan, she reached over and grabbed it. She opened to the Table of Contents and then flipped to a specific page. "I dare you to do a dramatic reading of this," she said, leaning over to Xander and pointing to a blurb that read 'Four Ways to Make Your Crush Think You're A Cutie.'

Xander snatched the magazine out of Willow's hands and said, "It is on." Then, in his best valley girl voice (which was not very good at all), accompanied by the sound of the girls' laughter, he read the teen tabloid's tips for how to ensnare guys.

"I'm sure you will put those to good use, Xand," Buffy said, still giggling as Xander closed the magazine and tossed it back towards the trash.

"Of course," Xander replied, mock-genuine. "Obviously playing with my hair will make me look so much more attractive," he said, looking very idiotic attempting to twirl a piece of his short hair around his finger. "So, on to the next. Buffy, Truth or Dare?"

After a moment of deliberation, Buffy confidently said, "Dare." Xander nodded, pleased, at this response.

"Please reenact the first time you ever staked a vamp. I've always wondered how the girly-girl you supposedly used to be handled her first minion of the undead," Xander dared the blonde.

"Okay," Buffy said, standing up and grabbing a stake from her desk drawer. "So it looked something like this. Now, you have to imagine that it was really dark and I wasn't used to being out in the middle of the night yet. Also I hadn't figured out how to dress for slaying, so I was in some ridiculous outfit that supplied very little maneuverability." After saying this, she turned around herself a few times and then weakly stabbed in front of her. "At first, I missed the heart. And I barely pushed hard enough to hurt him. But then I realized that he was about to kill me and…" she paused, then stabbed the air again, this time with the concentration and power Willow and Xander were used to seeing, "Slayer instincts kicked in. Then he turned to dust, and I screamed. My Watcher had warned me that was what happened, but it still gave me the wiggins seeing it the first time."

Both Willow and Xander nodded at that; they remembered their great discomfort at seeing their first vampire disintegrate before their eyes. Of course, at that time, they weren't even aware that vampires existed, so Buffy did have less of an excuse.

"Basically it was sorely lacking. Be glad I got better!" Buffy laughed as she returned the stake to her desk and sat back down. "Ooh, my turn to ask again. Xander, Truth or Dare?"

The boy looked at her, surprised, while he swallowed the scoop of ice cream he'd taken while she'd been up demonstrating her early slaying skills (or lack thereof). "Let's go with Truth this time," he said, once the ice cream was safely out of his mouth.

"Who was your first crush?" Buffy asked. Both of her friends gave her questioning, slightly condescending looks, and she said, "What? No, seriously, I want to know. It's hard sometimes, you both know all this stuff about each other's pasts because you've both always been there, and compared to that I know next to nothing. So I don't think I know and I want to: Xander, who was your first crush?"

"Well, you already know about my brief romantic affair with this lovely lady," he answered, gesturing to Willow and barely noticing as she turned a not very attractive shade of bright red. "But I guess my first real crush, when I was old enough to get it and understand what a crush was, I mean, was in the seventh grade, this girl named Elizabeth Metzger. She was great. But she moved away at the end of that year. Probably a good thing; I never got the guts to try to talk to her and make a fool out of myself."

"Seventh grade, Elizabeth Metzger," Buffy repeated. "Very interesting. What did you think of her, Willow?"

Willow shrugged, buying time as she carefully chose her words (carefully so as to not reveal the undertone of 'I didn't like her because she was just the first of a long list of girls that Xander liked instead of me'). "Elizabeth was alright. She was never actively mean to me, even though she was pretty popular, so I liked her for that."

"Okay, it's my turn to ask now, right?" Xander said, a weird look starting to form in his eyes.

"It is," Buffy said, trying hard to translate the odd expression on Xander's face. Willow didn't have to try; she knew exactly what it meant. Xander was making a plan and was about to put it into action.

He turned to face the redhead, and she began to hold her breath without realizing. "Willow, Truth or Dare?"

"Truth," she answered quickly, and Xander's eyes lit up as he uttered a very quiet, "Yes."

Willow realized she was correct, that Xander had a plan, when he said, "Now this truth is going to be for the both of you, so Buffy, you have to answer even though I didn't ask you." He had to have known that Willow would choose Truth and he would be able to ask whatever it was he was about to say.

"Yes, I remember the rule," Buffy said, ready to answer whatever question Xander was about to throw their way.

"And remember, this is Truth or Dare, so there's no lying here," Xander insisted unnecessarily.

"That's like the unwritten rule of the game. We'll both be honest," Buffy replied in a 'duh' sort of voice, rolling her eyes for Willow's benefit.

Xander cleared his throat and gave a look that said 'Now it's time to be quiet.' He glanced from Buffy to Willow and back to Buffy again. "Okay. Buffy, Willow, telling the truth, have you ever kissed another girl?"

Blonde and red eyebrows shot up simultaneously, and then the two girls turned to look at each other. They were definitely quiet now.


	4. Chapter 4

**Unexpected Truths, Chapter 4**

**A **_**Buffy the Vampire Slayer **_**fan fiction**

**A/N: I'm back! Sorry for the wait; hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for reading, and as always, any and all comments are appreciated :)  
**

_Previously…_

_Xander cleared his throat and gave a look that said 'Now it's time to be quiet.' He glanced from Buffy to Willow and back to Buffy again. "Okay. Buffy, Willow, telling the truth, have you ever kissed another girl?" _

* * *

Willow could feel a frantic blush heating her cheeks, forehead, and neck, and although Buffy rarely blushed, she could feel herself growing red as well. Xander looked at them both, starting to wonder if he had crossed a line. When he'd thought of it, he knew it might be pushing it, but he thought it would still be okay. But judging by the girls' silence, it wasn't. He was worried he might have hurt them, and that was the last thing he wanted.

Buffy looked over to her redheaded friend, who at the moment was not just redheaded but also red-faced. She could see her chest moving up and down rapidly with each breath, probably growing really uncomfortable with the question. Buffy continued to stare at Willow, hoping to coax her green eyes up from the carpet to meet her own. Though the blonde felt a bit uncomfortable as well, it was obviously nothing compared to how her best friend was feeling. As always, she realized it was her duty to try and save the day.

Just as Xander was readying himself to say, "Uhh…I'm just kidding. I've got another Truth for you, Will," Buffy jumped in and said, "You know what, I'll answer first."

Xander's gaze fixed on Buffy and he said, "Alright Buff, go ahead," as Willow slowly raised her chin so she could look at her friends again.

"Well, the answer to have I ever kissed another girl before is yes, I have," Buffy said resolutely.

After a momentary pause, Xander said (letting his eagerness show for the first time since the initial asking of the question), "So? You said yourself they couldn't be yes or no answers."

Buffy glared at him for a second before continuing, "I remember. I was just trying to get the whole story together in my brain. Hold your horses. Okay. So it was the summer before freshman year, and my friends had snuck onto the football field of our school one night. It was something we liked to do back then."

"This is pre-Slayer, then?" Xander clarified.

"Yup. As far as I knew at the time, vampires were just pale Eastern European men with fangs, capes, and really bad accents. Anyway, we were sitting around, talking, laughing, really not doing much of anything. Then these two guys, total meatheads, started getting into this argument. I don't even remember what it was about, something about girls not thinking kissing was a big deal or something? I guess it must have been something about girls caring about kissing other girls. I don't know. So in our group, there was this one girl, Emma, who always got really irritated when people would get into dumb arguments like this. She'd do whatever she could to try and put a stop to the arguing. So these guys had been arguing for a couple minutes, and we were all pretty annoyed with them, though no one more than Emma. Finally, she got so tired of it that she said something like, 'Seriously, do girls care about kissing girls? You want an answer to that?' and I guess I was the girl sitting closest to her, because next thing I knew, she was kissing me."

Xander stared, dumbstruck, while Willow's gaze had returned to the floor. Buffy looked at the both of them and shrugged.

"So it was just like a…grab and smack?" Xander asked, not very discreetly trying to mentally picture Buffy kissing another girl.

"I wouldn't call it a grab and smack," Buffy said, laughing. "Although grab is right. But the kiss was longer than a smack. It was, you know, a normal kiss. A lot like a first date kiss. Not hot and heavy, but more than a little peck. And hey, it shut those guys up right away."

"I don't doubt it," Xander muttered.

Buffy leaned over and smacked him on the arm then said, "Now I wonder if they weren't arguing to bait her. Because doing that sort of thing was totally the norm for her. She was a little cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. But anyway, there's my answer to if I've ever kissed another girl."

"Thank you for the honesty," Xander replied gallantly. "But, I believed I asked more than just you." Both he and Buffy turned to look at Willow, who'd been staring at the floor since partway through Buffy's story.

"Hey Will, come on. I answered, now it's your turn," Buffy said, trying to be kind and encouraging to her best friend.

Very softly, so low it was almost inaudible, Willow mumbled, "I don't want to answer."

"Willster, that's not fair! Buffy answered the question, and technically I didn't even ask her," Xander protested while Buffy stared at the redhead, trying to piece things together.

Finally, something dawned on Buffy, and she drew in a deep breath, causing Willow to look up. "It's not that you don't want to answer because the question makes you uncomfortable. You don't want to answer because your answer is yes!"

Willow's face, still red from embarrassment, became panic-stricken. "I didn't say that," she said, speaking emphatically for the first time in minutes.

"You didn't have to. I know I'm right," Buffy replied.

"Yeah, Will. You know, you might as well give us the details, since you've basically already answered the question. It's not like you can pass," Xander said.

"It's true. You can't pass because you've already given us the initial answer. So now you have to obey the rule of 'no yes or no answers' and tell us the story behind your yes," Buffy said, trying to laugh and stay light. She could tell that this made her best friend pretty nervous, but this was not a story she was willing to pass up. Willow kissing a girl? She had to hear about how this happened.

Willow exhaled in irritation, a short, loud burst of air, before she spoke. "Okay, fine. Yes, my answer's yes, I've kissed a girl before. Now you want to hear details?"

"Um, yes. Did I not just say that?" Xander said.

Buffy shot him a look saying 'Shut up and don't be a jerk' and then smiled brightly at her female friend. "Just whatever you're willing to share, Will. But we would appreciate it if you'd maybe talk to us instead of to my spoon."

That made Willow laugh a little, and then she began to look more at ease. "Well, okay. Xand, you remember the summer camp I went to the summer after eighth grade?"

"Yeah, the Jewish camp, right? The one you hated?" Xander replied.

"That's the one," Willow said. Looking at Buffy, she explained, "That summer, my dad decided I needed to be more in-touch with my heritage, so he sent me to a two-week, Jewish sleep-away camp. It wasn't totally awful, but I would've much rather been here. Anyway, at this camp, for the first time ever, I was actually semi-popular. There weren't very many pretty girls, so I ranked relatively high as far as looks went. And we all know that's pretty much all that mattered at that time, so I got to hang out with the 'cool' kids. I suppose because looking decent meant to them that I wasn't a complete weirdo."

"Little did they know," Xander teased, but he quickly stopped when both girls shot him something resembling death glares.

"So one night, we snuck out of our cabins and went down by the lake to hang out. Very against the rules, so I was already feeling rebellious. Then, someone brought out a soda bottle, and we started playing what I now realize was a very unfair game of spin the bottle. I say unfair because they made the rule that if a girl spun and it landed on a girl, they had to kiss, but if a guy spun and it landed on a guy, they didn't. But I wasn't really thinking about that then, and even if I had been, I wasn't going to say anything to make them think I wasn't cool. I _actually_ had friends for once. So everybody was spinning and kissing, like you do. We had rules about how long you had to kiss for and such, so that people weren't getting away with, as Xander previously termed it, 'grab and smacks.'"

All three of them laughed at this, and then Willow continued. "I hadn't spun yet, and the bottle hadn't landed on me. Then, this girl Rachel spun. She was definitely one of the prettiest girls at camp, and you could tell that every guy wanted the bottle to land on them. But it landed on me. It was totally cheesy; everybody ooohed because this was the first time two girls were supposed to kiss during the game, and they were wondering if we were going to go through with it. But she was pretty comfortable with herself, or at least that's how she seemed, and I wasn't going to do anything to make these kids dislike me. So she crawled over to where I was sitting in the circle, put her hands on my face, and then kissed me. And that was that."

The moment Willow finished her story, her head shot down, as if she only realized what she was saying after she said it. Xander had a look of total bewilderment on his face, and Buffy was trying hard to keep her curiosity at bay. She really wanted to ask Willow if she'd enjoyed` it, kissing another girl, but it was obvious that that would not be the most appropriate of questions at the moment.

"Is there a reason you never told me, Will?" Xander asked, sounding a little forlorn.

"Not really," Willow answered softly, her hand slowly tracing a pattern in the carpet, eyes still on the floor. "It wasn't exactly the sort of thing you just bring up. 'Yeah, camp was alright and oh, I kissed a girl during spin the bottle.' Not really the type of thing I would say."

Xander nodded, staring at Willow until her head lifted and she made eye contact with him. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said with a shrug and a smile. His smile widened as she gave a small smile in return, and Buffy breathed an internal sigh of relief. For a moment, it had seemed like Willow was really upset. But now it was obvious that she was fine, albeit a little uncomfortable.

"Makes sense to me," Buffy said and gave Willow's knee a little pat. The small action caused the redhead to turn towards the blonde, and the two girls shared a little smile of their own.

"Well, that was a very information-filled Truth. I honestly wouldn't have guessed that either of you would answer yes to that question," Xander said, sounding a bit smug, but generally well meaning.

Buffy laughed, then responded, "I'd imagine there's more you don't know about us than you think."

Willow chuckled as well and said, "I agree. I bet you'd be surprised."

"Hmmm…" Xander intoned, striking a slightly distorted version of The Thinker pose. "I guess I'll just have to discover more as the game continues. But right now I need to use the bathroom." He stood up unceremoniously, dropping his spoon to the floor. "Don't keep playing without me."

Xander shut the door behind him, and the two girls looked at each other for a moment before dissolving into giggles. After a minute, their laughter subsided, leaving them smiling broadly at one another.

"Well, that was…quite the story," Willow said, trying to fill the air. She could feel something off between the two of them, but she had no idea what it was or where it was coming from.

"Yeah, yours too," Buffy replied. Now she was the one avoiding looking at her best friend. Because she knew if she looked at her, she wouldn't be able to hold back what she wanted to say.

Genuinely hoping to figure out what this awkward feeling was, Willow reached out and rested a hand on top of one of Buffy's. At this touch, Buffy couldn't help but look, and because she was looking, there was no stopping her words. Before she could think twice, they tumbled out: "I really liked kissing another girl. It was nice. I've thought that ever since. What about you? Did you like it?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Unexpected Truths, Chapter 5**

**A **_**Buffy the Vampire Slayer **_**fan fiction**

**A/N: Hi everyone…I have nothing to say for myself. Literally nothing. *****cricket cricket***** And on that note, I hope you enjoy this chapter! As always, reviews are most happily welcome! (Even if they're just you venting your frustration at my absurd slowness) Thank you dearly for reading!**

_Previously…_

_At this touch, Buffy couldn't help but look, and because she was looking, there was no stopping her words. Before she could think twice, they tumbled out: "I really liked kissing another girl. It was nice. I've thought that ever since. What about you? Did you like it?"_

* * *

Willow's eyes widened as Buffy spoke almost frantically, as if she couldn't control what she was saying. The redhead could hardly believe that she'd just talked about her experience kissing a girl, let alone that now her best friend was asking her if she'd liked it. Was she actually supposed to answer that question? What the heck was she supposed to say?

Immediately after the words left Buffy's mouth, she realized what she'd just said. In one fast motion, she pulled her hand out from under Willow's and used it to grab the ice cream and take a big bite, desperately trying not to look at Willow. She continued eating, attempting to use stuffing her face as a legitimate reason for moving away from Willow and not meeting her gaze.

Though she was shocked, and though she could tell that the blonde was uncomfortable now, Willow had to be certain that she'd actually heard Buffy correctly. "Um, come again?" she asked hesitantly.

Buffy couldn't help but release a short laugh at the fact that the phrase "Come again" had just left her incredibly intelligent friend's mouth. "Will, you are aware of what you just said, yes? I think you've been spending too much time with Xander."

That made Willow giggle as well. "I think you're probably right. I guess that was a little odd. But it seemed like the appropriate thing to say in the situation..." she trailed off, her hand making a vague, presentational gesture.

"Yeah, I guess so," Buffy replied, unsure of whether or not she should seriously repeat the question. For one, she doubted that Willow actually needed it repeated. And secondly, more importantly, Buffy now wasn't sure that she wanted to hear the answer.

Sensing Buffy's uncertainty, Willow felt the need to clarify her statement of 'Come again.' "Do you really want me to answer the question of whether or not I enjoyed kissing another girl?"

"Well, I kind of answered it when I asked you, so…yeah, I want you to answer. I mean, if you want to answer," Buffy replied, making up her mind then and there about wanting to hear how Willow would respond. The question had already been asked, so the blonde figured she might as well stick to her guns and wait for an answer.

The redhead looked at her friend shyly. She'd thought about this question before, having posed it to herself many times after the kiss occurred, but she'd never actually spoken about it with anyone. Not because she had any sort of problem with having kissed another girl, but because, as she'd said to Xander earlier, she'd never really had occasion to talk about it. But an occasion had arisen, and Willow decided to take advantage of it.

"To be honest, yes, I did enjoy kissing a girl. I agree with you; it was nice. Maybe it's just because she was a good kisser, certainly better than the boys I kissed that evening. But it was…pleasant," Willow said, growing more comfortable as she spoke. She gave a small shrug upon finishing and held Buffy's gaze. There was a nervous excitement present in the blonde's eyes, something Willow didn't recognize and couldn't entirely place.

"I agree," Buffy said resolutely. "Though you already know that, because I already said it…" she added, trailing off a tad shyly.

Willow was surprised to see this somewhat more timid side of her best friend. It was the opposite of what she'd come to expect, and it was amusing. Somewhere in the redhead's mind, the thought occurred, _Am I doing this to her? Why? _

There was a growing smile on Willow's mouth, and Buffy took that as a good sign. She realized that this lack of confidence was decidedly unlike her and made the active decision to change it. Throwing caution to the wind, figuring she'd never get another opportunity to have a conversation like this, the blonde put a mischievous glint in her eyes and turned her gaze on Willow. "There's just something so much softer about kissing a girl, wouldn't you say?"

Somewhat taken aback by the continuing of the conversation, Willow looked at Buffy, taking note of her expression and the question. _Wait_, she realized, _is Buffy flirting with me? _Though it was something she'd never experienced before, she knew that flirting was indeed what was happening. It was the only way to explain the cutely impish look in Buffy's eyes and the continued discussion on the subject of kissing, growing sexier by the second._ Wait…am I enjoying Buffy flirting with me_? _Oh my gosh I am. I am definitely enjoying the flirting._

Quickly deciding she didn't want to be outdone, or worse, have Buffy think that she had a problem with it, Willow replied, "It is much softer. Much less grabby for one. And girls have such soft hands." She looked pointedly at Buffy's fingers extended on the floor between them. "And such soft lips." Another pointed gaze, this one at the blonde's pink lips. _Wow, I did not expect myself to say that! But it is true. And Buffy's hands and lips look especially soft._

Buffy bit her bottom lip unconsciously, shocked at how forward her best friend was being. The comment about lips drew her eyes to Willow's small, red mouth. As she had many times that evening, she marveled at how stunning the difference was between pale skin and rosy lips. Being so focused on admiring the redhead's beauty, she scooted closer to her without realizing it.

"It's true," Buffy said. "Girls are soft in all the right places." She unabashedly let her eyes sweep Willow up and down, lingering on the softest places, the curve of her breasts, the swell of slim hips from a tiny waist.

Willow could only nod at this, having nothing to say and getting an all-over sense of tingles from the way Buffy was looking at her. Her heart was beating very quickly. She knew what was coming, and the prospect of kissing a girl again, of kissing Buffy, was exciting her in a way she'd never experienced before. Dark hazel eyes locked onto her bright green ones, and both girls slowly began to lean in.

"Please tell me you didn't play any rounds while I was gone," Xander said as he carefully shut the door behind him.

Willow breathed in sharply and immediately sat ramrod straight, making sure to avoid Xander's eyes as he sat back down. Xander, very focused on the ice cream he grabbed, didn't seem to notice.

Buffy managed to be a little subtler, grabbing a Snickers bar from the bag in front of her, as if that's what she'd been leaning towards all the time. "No rounds of Truth or Dare were played while you were out of the room, Xand." Unbeknownst to one another, both girls had a thought strikingly similar to, _The game that was being played was a different one entirely_.

"Good," Xander said between spoonfuls. "Glad you two listened. Now, whose turn is it to ask?"

"Willow's, I think," Buffy replied.

The redhead cleared her throat and shook her head, trying to push what had just happened to the back of her mind and focus on the playing of the game. "Oh, um, I think you're right. Okay then. Uh, Xander, Truth or Dare?"

* * *

"Oh my gosh!" Buffy exclaimed, the whole gang struggling to catch their breath after a hysterical laughing fit. In order to get him back for daring her to showcase the (lack of) skills she picked up in her one year of ballet classes, Willow had dared Xander to do some disco dancing. Buffy even found a cassette of upbeat disco hits, and the girls completely lost it as Xander did his best to dance to "Get Down Tonight." After a moment of feeling mortified, he realized how ridiculous he must have looked, and he joined in on the laughter.

All three teens breathed in raggedly; they'd finally gotten their giggles under control. "Well," Buffy said, "I think our game of Truth or Dare has come to a close. Because honestly, nothing can beat that."

"Oh thank you, thank you," Xander said, taking a series of small bows.

"You're ridiculous," Willow told him, snickering again before taking in a deep breath in order to avoid collapsing in laughter again.

"That I am," Xander responded, taking a swig of his Yoo-Hoo. "So, if we're done with our game, what should we do? Want to watch another movie?"

"Sounds good to me," Buffy replied, grabbing some candy wrappers to throw out.

Willow nodded her assent then started to help Buffy clean up. As they both reached for the same wrapper, their fingers touched briefly, and the two would have sworn there were visible sparks when they came into contact. Both ignored it as best they could, stood, and threw the garbage in the trashcan, then walked over to the desk where Xander was looking over their choices.

"Well, we've got three movies to choose from. What should we watch?" Xander asked.

"Does it matter?" Buffy said. "We know they're all going to be completely bizarre."

"That's very true," Willow said. "So do we just want to pick randomly? Eenie-meenie-minie-moe or something?"

"Great idea, Will," Xander replied. He gestured widely and pointed his finger. "Let me do the honors."

The girls rolled their eyes and turned to go back to where they were sitting as Xander began the discerning nursery rhyme. Buffy sat down on her bed first, reaching around for a blanket to cover up with. As she returned to face Willow, she opened the blanket and innocently raised her eyebrows, inviting the redhead to sit next to her and share the blanket. Uncertain, Willow hung back for a moment. It was one thing to flirt when it was just the two of them, but with Xander in the room, it seemed awkward.

Willow was saved from making a decision by Xander, who turned with a VHS in his hand and said, "Hey! We can't all fit on the bed. Not fair, Buffster."

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Buffy responded, "I guess you're right, it isn't fair," and slid from the bed to the floor. Willow, secretly a little relieved, took a seat a few feet away, out of the reach of her blanket.

"Okay, well this one had a pirate ship, an ostrich, and a lamp on the box, so let's see what it's all about!" Xander said as he put the video in the VCR and pressed play. Sitting down between Buffy and Willow, he reached for his Yoo-Hoo and a Twix bar as the opening credits began.

* * *

Buffy opened her mouth as the screen went dark, prepared to say that that one made less sense than the previous two, if that was even possible, but before she got the words out, she realized that both her companions were already asleep. Thinking back, she remembered noticing Willow's body relax about halfway through the movie, and when she glanced at Xander a little later to make a comment about the main character's awful dialogue, she saw that he was conked out as well.

"Wimps," she muttered under her breath, standing up and stretching for a moment before going to the TV, taking out the VHS, and turning everything off. She walked to her desk and returned the tape to its box, then walked to her window.

_Nearly two o' the clock and all is well_, Buffy thought, looking outside. A phrase she learned from her father, she rarely used it because her nighttime activities did not often equal all things being well. However, tonight as she looked up and down her street, she decided that everything seemed peaceful.

_I think it's probably a good thing I'm not hunting right now, I'm so distracted. What was that that even happened with Willow earlier? We were flirting, right? I didn't just imagine that? But why would she flirt with me? She likes Xander. She's always liked Xander. I don't know what happened. Maybe she was just reflecting my warm fuzzies. I definitely let them get the best of me. Whoops. You'd think I'd be better at not showing my feelings, since hello, Slayer! I manage to keep that under wraps; why not my own emotions? Ugh. If only slaying provided me any useful life skills—_

The feel of warm breath on her arm made Buffy's thoughts stand still. While she'd been caught up in her reverie, Willow had awoken and joined her by the window. The two stood very close to one another, feeling something like an electric charge passing between their bodies.

"Is it strange, being up here safe instead of down there fighting?" Willow asked, noticing, as Buffy had earlier, that everything on the street seemed calm.

"It's not strange at all," Buffy answered. When Willow turned back to look at her, the blonde continued, "Because being here with you feels like the most natural thing in the world."

Willow looked down, knowing what she meant, but still needing to clarify. "You mean being here with Xander and me, watching movies and goofing around?" Her heartbeat sped up as Buffy didn't answer, worried that maybe she did mean it generally and that maybe she'd misinterpreted their previous interaction, that now she was going to have to quash feelings for Buffy just like she'd done with Xander for so many years.

"That's not what I mean, and you know it," Buffy said softly, steadying her eyes to Willow's, waiting for their gazes to meet.

The redhead slowly looked up at her best friend, her best friend that she never expected to be having these sorts of feelings for. She had always assumed that these butterflies were reserved for her boy-shaped best friend, but now it was Buffy that was causing the incessant fluttering in the pit of her stomach.

As the blonde held Willow's gaze, the redhead saw something that had always been missing in Xander's eyes. She saw that the butterflies were mutual. She'd already let feelings for one best friend lie dormant for far too long. She wasn't about to let that happen again.

"Hey Buffy," Willow said, breaking the silence but not breaking their stare. "I've got one more dare for you."

"And what is that?" Buffy asked, taking a small step in and raising one eyebrow.

Taking a deep breath and leaning in unconsciously, Willow instructed simply, "Kiss me."


	6. Chapter 6

**Unexpected Truths, Chapter 6**

**A **_**Buffy the Vampire Slayer **_**fan fiction**

"Kiss me."

Those were two words Buffy didn't need to hear twice. In a matter of milliseconds, her lips were pressed against the redhead's, and her arms were reaching around to encircle Willow's shoulders. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Willow's arms slid around her best friend's waist, pulling them so close together that there was barely a hair's breadth between them.

One of Buffy's hands snaked around to the back of Willow's head, allowing her to deepen the kiss. The blonde slid her tongue along her friend's lips, requesting entry. It was granted with a subtle parting of lips, and their kiss quickly grew more intimate.

Hands were roaming and bodies were pressed up against one another, close enough for each girl to register every small movement from the other. At the same time, they both realized that the need for air was growing, and they eased their mouths apart.

The two girls stayed close as they eagerly gulped in air. Their breathing was ragged, and not for the first time that night. But there was an underlying difference between this and the previous times in the evening. The panting caused their passionate kiss had a rhythm very different from that of the breath catches after uncontrollable laughter. Both were wonderful, and important, but this one felt so good in the moment.

Buffy looked into her best friend's deep green eyes. There was a hunger there she never would have expected. She knew neither of them would be satisfied by one hot kiss beside her bedroom window.

Putting a finger to her lips and gesturing towards the sleeping form on the floor that was Xander, Buffy took Willow's hand and led her out of the bedroom. Shutting the door silently behind them, they continued down the stairs, through the kitchen, and out to back door.

Both girls silently thanked the weather gods as they sat down on the porch swing. It was lovely outside, just cool enough that the heat they both emanated was noticeable and welcome but warm enough that they wouldn't freeze. Willow took the opportunity to snuggle close to Buffy and place a hand on her far cheek. Gently turning their faces towards one another, she kissed her again.

This kiss was less excited than the previous one, but neither was surprised. That had been their first kiss, technically on a dare, and it had had the eagerness of a first. However, what this kiss may have lacked in excitement, it made up for in romance. Already the kissing was easy and natural, yet still with lots of passion and desire.

Almost without realizing it, Buffy wrapped an arm around Willow's waist and, using a smidge of Slayer strength, lifted her slightly. She set her down on her lap but kept her arm circling her friend, lightly stroking the hipbone she felt under pajamas. Once the redhead noticed the change in position, she slid her legs apart so she was straddling Buffy.

Air once again became a necessity, and they separated their mouths but kept their bodies close. Buffy couldn't help but release a string of small, giddy giggles as she tried to catch her breath.

"What's so funny?" Willow asked, working to catch her breath as well.

"I just never expected you'd be so…forward," Buffy said with a not so subtle glance at Willow's spread legs. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. Unlike most surprises in my life, this is a very nice one." She casually traced small circles on the redhead's exposed thigh, enjoying the shivers it sent down her spine.

Growing a little shy once again, Buffy said exactly what was on her mind, as terrifying as the answer could be. "I'm hoping it's because your warm fuzzies are aimed right at me, so being improper isn't even crossing your mind."

"That sounds about right," Willow said, leaning in to place a little kiss on the tip of Buffy's nose. Then she placed a kiss on her sharp cheekbone before continuing, "And maybe I'm not as proper as you think. Or at least, maybe I'd like not to be."

"Oh really?" Buffy asked, eyebrows raised.

Willow shrugged slightly then gasped as Buffy started to plant open-mouthed kisses along her neck. She gasped again as the blonde slowly slid her hands up to encircle her waist, hinting they would go up further.

Though the redhead realized that, to her surprise, she wanted that experience (and more) with Buffy, she didn't want it tonight. Though the feelings she had for Buffy were deep and true, twenty four hours ago, or even four hours ago, she hadn't realized that she had them. Because of that, she was inclined to take things a little slow. Hoping her best friend picked up on that, Willow moved her head to capture Buffy's lips while simultaneously shifting her hands from beneath her chest to around her back.

Buffy was happy with whatever contact she could get, still a little shocked that Willow was returning her desire so strongly. Now that her hands were against her back, she spread her fingers apart and pressed on Willow's small frame, bringing them close together. Once again their kiss deepened, this time charged with the knowledge they both had that they would become more intimate as time went on, but tonight was the perfect time to just kiss and be close.

There were many more kisses, on mouths and necks and collarbones. Buffy was careful not to leave a love mark the beauty she was holding, difficult due to Willow's extremely pale skin. They savored the feel of the night air and the music they made together, a collection of gasps and sighs, nonsensical whispers, and the sound of cloth on cloth.

Finally, during a break for air, Willow's tiredness hit her full on. Her body had been so excited by the interaction with Buffy that it had forgotten she'd been asleep, but all of a sudden it remembered.

The blonde felt her friend's body weaken, craving the relaxation of sleep. Very gently once again, using all of her Slayer control, she lifted Willow off her lap and set her back against her side. When the redhead released a large yawn, Buffy followed suit, feeling a wave of tiredness reach her too.

Now back to sitting side by side, the girls relaxed into one another. Buffy put an arm over her friend's shoulder and used it to pull her as close as possible. Willow nuzzled into Buffy's side, loving the warmth her body provided. She tilted her head up, allowing her eyes to meet the blonde's.

Looking deeply into them, Buffy realized that the hunger she'd seen in Willow's eyes while they were in the bedroom had largely diminished. While it was still there, it was layered under a much stronger emotion: early love. Buffy felt warm throughout when she realized that she could see that in her friend's eyes, and she hoped her own eyes communicated the same.

"I like you, Willow," Buffy said quietly, feeling a little tacky for saying so and hoping that breaking the silence didn't break the spell between them.

"I like you too," Willow answered, extending her neck a bit to reach Buffy's lips and give her one final swift kiss for the evening. After that, she settled back into the crook of Buffy's arm, closed her eyes, and let sleep overcome her.

Buffy let her mind wander as she waited to fall asleep, knowing her Slayer instincts would guide her to exactly what she wanted to think about. _I bet Xander'll be a little wigged to wake up to an empty room in the morning. But one of us will probably wake up before him, and maybe we can sneak back into the room. Whatever, we'll deal with tomorrow morning tomorrow. _

She felt herself start to fall under sleep's spell, and there was one thought on repeat in her mind as she drifted off:

_Damn, what a great game of Truth or Dare_.

**A/N: That's all, folks! Thanks for sticking with this story, even though it kind of took me forever. I got this idea and decided to write it, thinking it would be an easy piece. I'll tell you right now I was wrong. Hopefully the major struggle bus moments are not too obvious (though I totally doubt that). I really really really appreciate all the reviews, follows, and favorites I've received with this story. You guys rock, and I hope you enjoyed this! **


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